Burying the past
by santamonica1991
Summary: As Dean Winchester struggles to deal with his brother's death, a mystery girl from his past steps in to help him cope and hopefully put him on the right path, only thing is that she's been dead for 14 years. kicks off at the end of Swan Song.
1. Chapter 1

Noblesville, Indiana

I suppose you could say that Dean Winchester hadn't been taking his brother's disappearance very well. He was doing the predictable thing by spending all of his waking hours with the TV shut off and a bottle of cheap whiskey in his hand. It'd been 2 weeks since Detroit and he hadn't spoken to anyone but the lady at the check-in counter of the motel and Lisa, whom he couldn't even think about right now. The only reason he was even in a motel was because he couldn't bear the thought of pushing his emotional baggage on her and Ben, because the last thing he wanted from them was their sympathy.

"But Dean, I know it's hard to think about right now, but you can stay here. Ben and I don't mind and you can stay in the spare room or on the couch. It's your choice," said Lisa as Dean was throwing clothes in his duffel bag. He'd been at Lisa's place for a week and he just couldn't stay there any longer. It wasn't because of Lisa or even Ben. He loved them both to pieces and would like nothing more than to stay and fit himself into their lives, but the truth was that he had things he needed to do, and he couldn't stand the thought of dragging them along, too.

He'd been planning on doing this for weeks. He was going to go back to Kansas and visit his mother and plant a head stone for Sammy, because his brother deserved it. He deserved to be remembered when everyone else who knew him was gone, and Dean needed the closure that metaphorically burying his brother would give him. But in all honesty, he'd just get halfway down the hallway and walk back to his room and grab the bottle again.

Lisa didn't like the idea of Dean staying in a hotel room by himself. She'd seen the way he'd been acting around the house, barely eating, and only leaving the spare room to use the bathroom.

"Lisa, I gotta go. I can't stay here and force myself on you and Ben. I'll call you when I get done and I'll come right back, I promise," he said with his back turned to the door. He hadn't looked her or anyone else in the eye since he got there.

Lisa unhitched herself from the doorway and walked over to the bed where Dean had laid out all of his clothes. She wrapped her arm around his waist and grabbed the pair of pants out of his hand and set them back on the bed.

"Lisa, I-" Dean started,

"Go do what you need to do. There'll always be a place for you here, just like there always has been. Just come back when you're done, Ok?"

"I will," said Dean as he wrapped his arms around her small frame. Lisa was that one woman in his life that had always been on the back of his mind. It was like her presence followed him everywhere he went. This was exactly what brought him back when he found out that he only had a year to live, and the only one he turned to when he lost his brother. She was the one person that he could always go back to and she was glad he did.

After he said goodbye to Ben and loaded his things into the impala, he made his way back to Kansas. He was 5 miles away before he finally broke down and turned around. He'd never tell Lisa about these attacks, that they hit him like a ton of bricks. It was almost like the thought of being alone, weather in a room or his car, drove him to the point where he could barely breathe. Dean had never been the one to let go and cry, but lately he'd been doing more of that than he was willing to admit. He had already told Lisa and Ben that he'd be gone for a while, so he pulled into the nearest motel he could find.

As he walked across the quiet parking lot to the check-in desk, he spotted a red El Camino that didn't really fit in with the other cars that spotted the parking lot. This one wasn't much different than the other ones he'd seen in his travels, but maybe it was the Minnesota license plate and the dark haired girl sitting in the driver's seat that got him thinking. He didn't know why, but for a second, she looked familiar. Like someone he used to know a long time ago.

She wasn't even really doing anything to grab his attention. She simply sat there and flipped through her phone, and from the sounds coming from the inside of her car, she was listening to music. Nothing out of the normal. Nothing about her screamed "Look at me," but she didn't look old enough to be listening to what she was listening to. From what he could tell, it was Gimme Shelter by The rolling stones. The same thing playing on his radio. That was the kind of music he remembered listening to when he was younger.

Almost as if she knew he was thinking about her, she looked up from her phone and stared him straight in the eyes. Almost instantly, her face paled and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Like a moment of realization hit and she knew who he was, too.

After he'd decided that this was a clearly awkward moment, he turned around and continued walking to the motel. That girl in the red El Camino sitting in the back of his mind.

"Nope," he murmured as he walked through the door, turning around only to check and see if she was still there, "She's been dead for 14 years."

I do not own Supernatural or any of it's characters. I simply own The girl and the red El Camino;) Review's please?


	2. Chapter 2

As Dean stepped into the elevator that would take him to the 4th floor, he had to hold the door for a wet little girl in a pink swimming suit. Shortly after she jumped in, a little boy, who seemed to be her older brother, ran in right after her. Like all little children, they pushed every single button they could reach until all of them were lit. Any other day, he'd snap and scare them into a corner. Today was different. He had no desire to bother those little kids. They were happy about being in that elevator. They were happy that they got to push all of those buttons and get away with it. They had that kind of happiness that Dean was convinced that he'd never feel again.

When the elevator finally reached his floor, he stepped out of the way and let them out so he wasn't trampled over. They nearly tripped over each other as they ran to their room and fought to get into the door.

When he reached his room, he set the bags on a bed. Even though Sam wasn't traveling with him anymore, he still brought his bag with him wherever he went. You could say it was out of habit that he did what he did. It was almost like he expected Sammy to walk in the door any minute after a run to the nearest gas station with munchies and beer. Dean sat down on the opposite bed and pulled a bottle of booze out of his duffel bag and a six pack of beer.

"Dean, you're gonna kill your liver if you keep drinking like that," said a voice from the window.

He turned around to see Cass peeking through the window at the parking lot. Dean hadn't seen him since Lawrence, and because the angel only popped up when he wanted to, he'd had no reason or need to talk to him anyway.

"Yeah… The sooner the better," he said as he opened the bottle of whiskey and upended it, only to find that no matter how fast he drank it, it never gave him the satisfaction he expected.

"That girl," said Cass as he stared out the window at the red El Camino. "Her name's Claudia, Dean."

Dean was in the middle of another swig of booze when Cass told him who she was. He stood up and walked to the window and looked down at the same scene as the angel.

"How-?" he said as he took another drink. At this rate, the bottle would be gone before Cass disappeared. "That's impossible."

The angel stepped back to give him a better view of the parking lot, and slowly pulled the bottle away from the already inebriated man.

"She's a gift, Dean. I brought her back for you," he said as he set a hand on his shoulder. Even though he wasn't around, it didn't mean he hadn't been keeping an eye out for his friend. Sam's loss hurt him too and he couldn't just sit by and watch Dean fall further into the pit he'd been digging himself. Cass knew that he needed someone who understood and could hopefully help him cope.

"Where did you find her?"

"She was buried in LeRoy at the Lutheran Cemetery. She doesn't exactly know what's going on, but I gave her the money, the clothes, and the car. I brought her here because if I remember correctly, she used to mean something to you. Both of you. But surprisingly, she was harder to find than you were. When-"

"Take her back Cass!" Dean said through grinded teeth. "She doesn't need to be here. I'm willing to bet she doesn't _want_ to be here either. Just take her back to where you found her."

"I think you need to hear what she has to say," said Cass, and with that- he disappeared, only to materialize behind the red car.

Dean watched as Castiel walked to the driver's side of the car and opened the door. She was apprehensive about leaving the comfort of the vehicle, but slowly took his hand and let him help her out of the El Camino. From what Dean could tell, she was 5'8 and looked to be around 17 years old. His eyes may have been playing tricks on him, but he swore he saw what almost looked like a gun tucked in her pants. He lost sight of her as Cass walked her into the hotel and about 5 minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

Dean waited a while before opening the door, but just in case, he checked through the peep hole to make sure it was Cass anyway.

As the door opened, he could see the angel with his arm around the girl from the car. She was dressed in a pair of baggy jeans with holes in them, an oversized flannel shirt, and a zip up hoodie. Apart from Cass, who was trying to be comforting, she was still scared out of her mind. When she saw Dean, she appeared to calm somewhat, but not enough to let her guard down completely. Dean may have been seeing things, but it almost seemed like he was a little reluctant to step away from her, as if he was protecting her.

"Dean?" she said with an amazed look on her face.

"Claudia?" he said as he set the bottle of booze down on the counter.

"Rev-" said Dean as he stumbled to find the words that would explain why she was here.

"No. She's not a demon either," he said with a satisfied look on his face.

"No. She's not real, that's what she is."

Before he could step forward to stop her, she swayed and started sliding to the floor, but luckily Cass grabbed her before she fell completely.

"What's wrong with her?" Dean asked as he stepped aside so Cass could lay her on a bed.

"She's fine. She's exhausted and hungry. I don't think she's slept since I brought her back… thankfully the baby-"

"Wait, run that by me again. The baby?" said Dean with a confused look on his face.

"Yes. The baby. Apparently… before the _Jé-rouge _got to her, she was pregnant. From what I can tell… she's about 4 and a half weeks along. When I brought her back, I brought the baby back, too."

This was more than he could handle… First off, she'd been dead for 14 years, and secondly, if he remembered right, he was supposed the father of that baby.

As Dean fumbled for the corner of the bed, Cass looked him over with a perplexed expression.

"She never told me," Dean said with his face in his hands. If he'd of known, he would have never let her go on that hunt. It never crossed his mind that she would've gone anyway, weather he liked it or not.

"14 years ago we were in LeRoy, and I- we- Sam and I, were there for about 2 months," he said as he looked at the girl on the bed. She looked exactly as he remembered her, still 17.

"What is it?"

"Don't you see, Cass? She's dead because of ME. I'm the one who had to kill her. Does she even know?"

"Yes, she does. She doesn't blame you Dean. She was raised a hunter, just like you. She knew what she was walking into, and still went in anyway. She never told you because there was no way that you were going to stay and help her raise him. That's why she never bothered to tell you."

"Him? You already know it's a _him_?"

"There are oh so many things that I can do that you don't know Dean," he said with a grin on his face.

"Look, Cass… Do you think you can just leave me alone for a bit? Still trying to recover," he said.

"Ok, but when she wakes up, please do me a favor and make sure she eats?" said Cass with concern.

"Yeah. I will, but why do you even care about her anyway? She means nothing to you,"

"I would not dare put a thing on this earth if I did not care for it, Dean. She is… Unique."

"Whatever, just go away. I'll call you when she gets up"

And with that, Cass was gone.

Instead of going to sleep, he pulled a chair closer to her bed and simply watched her sleep. He probably would've hit Cass if that angel dared not to care about the girl he brought back. For the first time since Detroit, Dean found a serenity that he hadn't been able to feel, and all he had to do was wait for her to wake up.

_I do not own Cass, Dean, or the Impala. Apparently i've been asked to continue writing, (:THANK GOD:), so reviews please? _


	3. Chapter 3

For the next 5 or so hours, he couldn't seem to take his mind off of her. He spent the majority of that time remembering the day they first met. She was working at the diner and they came in for lunch on a Sunday. Cass was right. She was unique. She was the first girl to shoot him down on the first try, ever, and that just made him want her even more. The only reason John brought him and Sam to LeRoy was because he had a job he had to do, well, a few. He had some random hunts in the neighboring towns, so they rented an apartment above the Sweets bar and stuck around.

Since John still had to enroll his children in some sort of education, they ended up spending that time at the local community school, which Sam was pretty excited about. Unlike Dean, Sam loved school. It gave him the chance to connect with other people and escape from the supernatural world that his father had pulled him through his whole life.

Dean's first day in the 12th grade was nothing different than any other first day. He was popular and got along with most of his male teachers and fawned over by most of the girls in his class. Rosedahl, his consumers math teacher had that fresh-out-of-college smell to him, but was still willing to joke around with his students. The art teacher was a borderline hippie, and proud of it. The only people he really clashed with were Claudia and Mrs. Payne. It was rumored that she was so old, they had to build the school and the laws of grammar around her.

It was almost the end of 5th hour when she came to school. She walked into Rosedahl's math class and Dean and a few other students laughed when Rosedahl thought it would be funny to throw a pencil in her direction. What was supposed to hit her, ended up hitting the wall next to Dean's head when she dodged it.

"Car break down again?" Rosedahl said over the top of the papers he was supposed to be grading. He didn't even look up when he threw the pencil.

"Yep. You know how it is. I couldn't get the damn spaceship to work right this morning," she shot back with a grin on her face. Clearly this had happened before, but neither of them had any desire to end it. Their own idea of fun.

Almost like magic, the bell rang and everyone rushed off to the next class, but she hung back to collect her assignment and throw some quick jokes at her teacher. Dean chose to wait outside of the classroom for her to come out.

I do not own Dean, Sam, John, or the Impala. I seem to be having some issues with getting this posted, and i'm working on ironing out the kinks, but for some reason it just isn't posting. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please Review?

When she walked out of the room, he took the opportunity to sneak up from behind. Because he didn't have anything he planned on saying, he blurted the first thing that came to mind.

"So… Spaceship huh?" he questioned, wondering what the back story was for that.

"Yep," she said with her eyes on her locker, "It's a joke… He landed on earth in a space ship and I took it from him." She smiled to herself as she rummaged around the bottom of the locker for her books.

Dean took this opportunity to survey her locker. There were pictures of a sunset, her under the hood of a red el Camino, and a few other odds and ends like a shot glass full of change signed by Bon Jovi. She was dressed simply in a well worn black shirt that read "I want to believe" and a pair of holy jeans with black cowboy boots patched up with electrical tape. She looked like she wore what she wanted and was proud of it, because no one else could pull off that style like she did.

"That's nice. So now that we're on speaking terms, I was wondering if you could help me out. I have…" he hummed while he pulled out a slip of paper with writing on it," Hall, for Government… and I'm lost. You think that maybe you could help me out?" he smiled.

She looked up from the mess of books at the bottom of her locker and looked him over.

"That's bull." She said as she stood up and looked him straight in the eyes. Her dark brown ones boring holes into his.

"What?" he questioned. That was his second time in a row she'd put him down. So what, yeah he did know how to get to the room, but she had to give him a chance right?

She shifted her books into her bag and set her hands on her hips.

"Joni takes pride in personally showing all of her new students around the school. My guess is that she gave you the tour during… lunch?" she guessed, and she was right. The aging secretary led both him and Sam around during lunch because she didn't get the chance to do so first hour.

"How-" he stammered, but by the time he got around to shooting back a smart remark, she was already walking down the hallway towards her next class. He had to push his way through other students to catch up with her.

"Hey, Claudia right?" he said as he matched her pace. Dean decided it might be a good idea to change his approach.

She stopped dead and looked around. There were no teachers in the hallway at the moment, so she caught him off guard and grabbed his hand. Dean didn't struggle, but was surprised when she pulled him into the girl's bathroom instead of a janitorial closet like he was used to.

She dropped his hand and pushed him into a corner, keeping him there by holding her body close to his.

"Dean, right?" she said with a grin on her face," what exactly is it you want from me?"

"Umm…. A little help, maybe." He said as he leaned his head down closer to hers. He wouldn't call her short, but he was still a head taller than she was.

She smiled and reached her hands up around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair, but instead of moving in for a kiss, she grabbed and pulled.

"So listen, ok?" She grinned," I'm not buying this crap you're selling. I can see right through it, and don't for a second think you'll get away with it. I'm not a pretty little toy like you guys seem to think I am. Capiche?" she said as she let go and backed away.

Dean struggled to keep his emotions under control, but had nothing to say when walked away and back into the hall.

Before he had a chance to recover, another girl he recognized from one of his earlier classes walked in and stopped when she saw him standing in the corner. A short giggle burst from her lips before she could stop it.

"…Claudia huh?" she said between giggles.

Dean looked at her like she was made of snakes and walked to the exit, but stopped when he realized something.

"Yeah, could you do me a favor…?"

"I'm Chantelle," she said to the mirror as she re-did her lip gloss.

"Chantelle, I could really use your help. Claudia seems to hate me for some reason, do you know why that might be?" he asked. If anyone knew what made her tick, it would be someone she grew up with.

She looked at Dean and put her lip gloss back into her pocket.

"Maybe you're not her type. She likes guys who shoot things, buttery popcorn, and scary movies. You don't seem to fit that profile," she said matter of fact.

"It doesn't seem like many other guys around here do either," he said.

"You'd be right about that, but she's a shiny new toy you know? She came here about a year ago from being home schooled. Her and her dad moved around a lot, so when he finally decided to settle down, he sent her to school. Most of the guys around here see her as a game."

"Well… Thank you for the help," he said and turned around to leave the bathroom, but she stopped him one more time.

"Hey. One more thing," she said, "There's this thing going on tonight at the camp site. Some guys are bringing booze and some fire wood, so if you wanted to come, I can bring her along with me. She's invited anyway, but she normally doesn't come unless I force her."

"That'd be great," he said as he pushed the door open and went to his next class.

After school, Dean planned on doing a little non creepy spying. As he was sitting in front of the building waiting for Sam, she was making her way towards the student parking lot. She was walking across the street when some jerk in a shiny jeep thought it'd be funny to rattle her up a bit. When he failed to successfully run her over, she walked over to the driver side and opened the door. She grabbed the laughing driver, a jock in a red and white letterman's jacket, and slammed his head against the back of the seat before pulling his keys out of the ignition and muttering something most definitely mean spirited in his ear. After that, she slammed the door and stalked off towards a beautiful cherry red el camino parked towards the back of the parking lot.

Dean was amazed. Never had he seen a vintage car so well taken care of, other than his father's Impala. He pulled out his phone and called his dad, to ask if he could borrow the car. Since they were still getting settled into the room, John would be doing some research in the bar before actually going anywhere. He liked to work his way outwards, instead of getting there and turning right back around.

Luckily, he was right and his dad would let him use the car, but only as long as Dean promised that he would detail the inside before he left.

He was just getting off the phone when Sam came out of the school. He was walking with a group of freshman wearing blaze orange vests. They broke apart and took their posts at the crosswalks and escorted elementary kids across the street.

"Hey Dean,"

"Heya Sammy," he said as he stuffed his phone back into the pocket of his leather jacket. Since it was so damn hot outside, he opted to carry the thing than wear it. Sam decided it was time to put his coat in his bag too, which was a relief. Dean didn't really feel like taking his brother to the hospital because of a heat stroke.

"So guess who I talked to today," he said with an excited tone to his voice. Never in all of the years he'd known his brother, had he been excited about anything but Christmas and when their dad came home.

"I dunno… people?" He said as he started walking to the bar. Dean had no desire to know who his little brother was talking to, just as long as it wasn't some creep.

"You remember that waitress from yesterday right? The one that called me 'babe' instead of you," he said with a full out grin on his face, ''Yeah, she goes around the school and helps out some of the teachers, like making copies and stuff. She came into the office and showed me how use the copy machine. She's really great."

"Yeah that's nice," he wasn't all that fond of the fact that she liked her brother more than him. He wasn't jealous about it, well, maybe… but that still didn't mean shit. It was just plain wrong.

Dean jumped when he heard a noise coming from the bed. Thankfully, it was a false alarm and she was simply shifting in the bed. She brought a small smile to his face when she reached under her shirt and rested a hand on her stomach. Images and thoughts started going through his head watching her do that. He thought about things back then, and how he never noticed anything different about her. They stayed for 2 months, and he had no idea what was going on. If she would've told him, he would have forced his dad to let him stay.

About an hour later, she whimpered and started thrashing as if something were attacking her.

"Shh…"Dean got up and held her close until she calmed down. His only guess was that Cass couldn't completely heal her. Back when she was little, she always had nightmares about something attacking her. She never told him this, but he could only imagine what could scare her so bad. She was raised like Sam and Dean, so she was just as prepared to kill just about anything, but the monsters she saw in her nightmares must not have been one of those things she was raised to fight.

Because he was afraid that if he let go of her she would start back up again, he laid down on the bed with his arm around her waist. Even though there was this huge age gap between them, this was comfortable. It was almost like she was that one missing piece of the puzzle that got left behind when someone moves. Dean couldn't believe he could ever feel this way about someone, and even back then, he had no doubt in his mind that he would've stayed. That was the first he realized that that was what Sam went through every time they left.

With nothing else to do than fall asleep, he shut his eyes and let himself go for the first time since his brother died. Let himself fall into that comfortable peace that deep down, he really wanted to do. He just didn't know how to do that until now.

When he woke up, he was slightly panicked when the other side of the bed was empty. He pulled his arm closer to himself, but she wasn't there anymore. Almost immediately, there was noise in the bathroom that suggested that she was busy worshiping the porceline throne. Dean got up and opened the door and there she was. It wasn't neccesarily a happy sight, but he had to ask anyway.

"Hey, hey, can I help?" he said with concern on his face.

She glanced over at him and he got chills. She was pale and her eyes were red, and her hair was pulled into a messy pony tail. Instead of threatening to pull a gun on him, like he expected her to, she looked away and shook her head. She never wanted him to see her like that.

Dean did what he was told and backed out of the room and shut the door. He had no idea how to deal with this. He never really had to. Sure, sometimes Sammy or him would drink too much one night, and the next day had to get it all out of their systems, but this was different.

There was a flutter of wings that usually marked the arrival of an angel. Luckily, it was just Cass.

"Hey Cass," he said with his eyes on the closed door. He checked his phone for the time, and wasn't suprised that it was already noon.

"Here, I brought this," said Cass as he sat on the bed next to Dean. He had with him a take out bag from Burger King, no doubtfully stolen from the BK across town.

"Thanks," he mumbled and took the bag away from his friend. He took a peek inside and grabbed the bacon double cheese burger out of the paper bag, ignoring the fries that came with it.

"You might need to eat that before she comes out," he said matter-of-factly," the smell of cooked food makes her sick."

"Well are you gonna pull something out of your trench coat for her?" he said through a mouthful of burger. He was frankly too hungry for manners right now.

"Go down to the vending machine in the lobby and grab a thing of milk. It's just about the only surefire thing that'll work," Cass said.

"Allright Mr. Wikipedia. Learn that from experience?"

"Jimmy, my vessel, when his wife was pregnant with their daughter, that was the only thing she would drink. I saw that in a memory."

"Great. Ok. I'll go and... umm.. do that," Dean nodded. This was all new to him, but luckily he had someone who was In the know of things.

I'm doing my best to get em posted. Hopefully this one takes:) I do not own ANY of the Supernatural caracters, nor do I own Supernatural itself. Simply Claudia. This amazing girl from my imagination. Review's please? Anything helps.


	4. Chapter 4

Cass got up to pace, something he never used to do. Usually, he just stood there and talked while Dean ignored him. Dean looked up at him quizzically.

"Cass… What's wrong?" he asked as he sat the burger back down on the paper wrapper. It took a lot to upset Castiel enough to make him act this way.

He looked at Dean and paced a little faster. It took him a moment to answer, but when he did, Dean listened.

"Dean, there's something you need to know." He said as he grabbed a chair and placed it between him and dean, in case he decided to launch at him," I'm in trouble."

"Okay, what kind of trouble?" he questioned, very concerned.

He shifted behind the chair like he was apprehensive about opening his mouth.

"Spit it out Cass." Dean snapped.

"I wasn't supposed to… do what I did. It wasn't my job." He answered.

"Do what? What did you do?" he asked, confused.

"Claudia. Bring her back. It wasn't up to me to bring her here." He admitted.

"What?" Dean spat. He got up and scared Cass into a corner.

Realizing that this wouldn't end in his favor, Dean let go of his friend and started to pace.

"The… assignment… was given to a different angel. " He chose his words carefully in case Dean decided to burn down the hotel with him in it.

Dean walked over to the door and braced his hands against the doorframe.

"Whose job was it then," he said without looking away from the closed door, "What do they want her for."

"An angel named Ansiel, much like Zachariah and Uriel." He answered, "to create another vessel for Michael when they get him out of Hell. If I wouldn't have sabotaged his search for her, they would have taken her and your child and you wouldn't have seen either of them. You need them more than heaven does right now."

"Don't tell me they're going to take her away. Please Cass," he begged.

"I am… uncertain, about what their next step will be, but it would be best if you take her someplace safe. I already took the same precautions as I did with you and Sam, but that may not be enough." He admitted.

Dean rubbed his eyes and ran his hand over his hair.

"What am I going to do man… I mean… I… can't lose her again," he whispered, defeated.

He walked over to Dean and set a comforting hand on his shoulder," It'll be ok. Take her to Bobby's. I'll do my best to hold them off, but they can't do much until she has the baby. We have until then to figure it out."

Dean nodded and took a deep breath and struggled to keep his temper in check. He backed away from the door and rubbed his hand over his hair again.

"Isn't it a little early to break bad news, Cass? I thought there was a law against that." Said a voice from the bathroom doorway.

Dean turned to face the speaker. She was standing by the door with her arms crossed, looking at Castiel. He looked over at Dean, then back to her and shook his head.

"Poor guy just woke up. Give him a break," she unhitched herself from the doorway and rummaged through her bag.

"You heard?" Dean spoke. He had no idea what to say to her just yet.

She looked up from her bag and smiled at him. The same smile that she gave him that night she died and he had to say goodbye. Now that he thought about it, it was close to the same one Jo gave him as she was dying on the floor and she told him to leave.

"I heard everything, and Cass was right. Everything's gonna be ok, ok?" she pulled a shirt and a pair of pants out of her bag and headed back toward the bathroom.

"Wait Claudia," said Dean as he got up and grabbed her arm to stop her. She looked up and furrowed her eyebrows.

"What-" she started, but Dean cut her off and pulled her against his chest. She was still for a second, but hugged him back.

"There's so much I wanted to say, Claud. So much," he pulled away and looked her in the eyes.

"I know," she nodded," we have the time, but you gotta let me go so I can jump in the shower."

He let her go and she looked over at cass.

"We'll leave for Bobby's when I get out and meet you there. Don't you DARE say a word to him. You are the worst bearer of bad news in the history of bad news," she shut the bathroom door and turned on the shower.

It was a minute before either of them could speak, so they just stood there staring at the door. Cass was first to break the silence.

"She scares me," he stated, still standing there awkwardly.

Dean shook his head and dug through his bag for a change of clothes until he found what he was looking for.

"Naw, she's harmless." he answered, pulling his shirt over his head.

"No, she's not." Cass shuttered.

Without a word, he dissapeared. Dean could only guess he was already at Bobby's or somewhere close by.

He finished changing his clothes and flipped on the tv, his gaze always landing on the closed door. He absentmindedly flipped through the channels until he was right back where he started.

Giving up on tv, he called Bobby and told him that he was gonna stop in. Luckily, he was in a good mood.

Just as he got off the phone, she came out. She looked much more human than she did when Cass brought her to his door.

She threw her old clothes into the bag and slipped on her black cowboy boots.

"You're staring, Dean." she said without looking up from her boots. Dean didn't know he was until she said something about it.

He looked away and got up to grab his bag. She was already waiting by the door.

"I'll follow you. We can talk at Bobby's." she told him before she walked out the door and to her car. Dean took a moment before leaving the room. He pulled his bag further up his shoulder and went to his car.

As he made his way through the bar, he spotted his dad sitting at a table with a man who looked like a biker. He nodded in his direction and continued up the stairs to the apartments, but Sam stuck around to talk to his dad for a minute. It didn't make much of a difference to Dean. Sam knew where the apartment was.

He twisted the key in the lock and pushed open the door. He stumbled into his room and stripped off his long sleeved shirt and opted to wear something cooler. It was gonna be hot when he got down to the car to detail it, and he wanted to have it done by the time he had to leave for the party.

Dean reached under the sink and pulled out a couple of garbage bags and stuffed them in his back pocket for later. He locked up the apartment and ran down the stairs and nearly clashed with his brother. Because Sam didn't have a key, he gave him his and continued down to the parking lot.

When he opened the door to the car, he was almost knocked off his feet. It was like opening the door to a blast furnace. It was unusually warm for the season, but that never stopped the heat from getting stuck in the car. He rolled all of the windows down and got to work.

The back seat of the car was a mess. Because they spent all of their time on the road, there were cans, bottles, wrappers, and a list of other things that Dean couldn't identify. The back seat alone took him an hour, but shortly after he started, Sam came down and went to work on the front seat.

They worked in silence to get their job done. Sam didn't bother asking Dean much and Dean just didn't feel like talking, which he understood. Mostly it was because he just couldn't understand why someone could hate him like she did.

They got done much sooner than he expected, so he took Sam across the street to the lumber yard to get a pop. They went back upstairs and chilled in the air conditioned room and waited. He'd heard there was a football game, being it was Friday night, so him and Sam made plans to go.

It was the homecoming game Grand Medow vs. LeRoy and everyone was there. The rivalry between the two teams was rumored to be a mean one. Dean paid for Sam's ticket and surveyed the scene.

He made his way toward the bleachers, but only got halfway when he spotted Claudia. She was at the concession stand buying a Dr. Pepper and talking to Chantelle. Sam had already been asked by some of his friends from school to go play a small game of football, so he was already gone.

He watched her take a seat at the top of the bleachers and chose not to follow. He didn't want to be known as that creepy guy that puppy dogged girls, not that some of them would mind. He had a feeling that she'd take that offensively. Dean waited as her friend introduced Claudia to a group of guys that came over from the Grand Medow side of the field.

She excused herself and left the group, clearly not interested in what her friend was trying to do. Chantelle didn't even know she left.

Claudia stood by the sidelines and watched the game for a while, and then went out to the parking lot, but before she got very far, Sam ran up and caught her attention. Dean was too far away to hear what they were saying, but she seemed to enjoy his little brother's presence. She smiled and shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat and looked Dean's way. He quickly turned to face the game, but still sensed that she was watching him.

When he looked back, Sam had her hand and was dragging her in his direction. _Damnit Sammy, _he thought inwardly and braced himself for what he was positive would be a verbal attack on how creepy his apparent stalking was.


	5. Chapter 5

"What are you doing, Sam?" he asked when they got within earshot. He had no idea what his brother was up to, but he was interested in finding out.

He gave him the, _I swear I didn't know that candy bar was in my pocket_ look and grinned.

"Claudia, you've met my brother Dean, haven't you?" he went over to stand by Dean and waited for her to answer, even though he was there when they met in the diner.

She thought about it for a minute and laughed.

"Yeah… I'm pretty sure I've met him somewhere." She answered, looking embarrassed.

"School, wasn't it. I swear I've seen you around somewhere," he replied, trying to lighten the mood. It was a seriously awkward moment and he'd already forgotten about earlier.

"Heh. Yeah. I'm fairly positive that's where it was."

"Sam! C'mon. We're waiting for you," A kid in an oversized red sweatshirt ran over and grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him back to the group of kids, leaving Dean and Claudia to fend for themselves.

She went over and stood next to Dean and faced the game.

"Look, I'm sorry about my brother. He can be a raging pain in the ass sometimes." Apologized Dean, even though it didn't look like he caused any damage.

"Naw. It's alright. He's a good enough kid," she looked up then back at the game. One of the players broke from the group on the sideline and stood in front of her and Dean.

"Claud, did you get it?" he asked, out of breath.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry Alex. I'll go get it now." She nodded and turned to leave. The kid named Alex nodded back and returned to the group. "I gotta run out to my car, but you're free to come out if you want to." she turned to leave.

"Sure," he looked over at his brother, who was busy playing with the game, and followed her to the parking lot.

She found her car and rummaged through the glove compartment until she found what she was looking for. It looked like a simple leather cord with a small silver charm on it. They were walking back to the game when she handed it to him.

"It's his lucky charm. It's like he doesn't know how to play without it," she laughed," even though he totally can."

"I see. Is he your cousin or something?" He turned it over in his hands and handed it back.

She took it back and untied the cord.

"What makes you think that?" she asked.

"His jersey said Stark on it." He answered, pointing out the obvious.

"Most peole say we're identical, but I don't blame you. He had his helmet on," She smiled and continued." He's my older twin brother."

"Alright. Makes sense." He replied. He didn't remember anyone saying anything about her brother.

"Yep."

She found their original spot by the sidelines and waited for her brother to come back. Dean checked on Sam, who was exactly where he left him.

"Yo. Bizo. Your sister is back," one of his teammates yelled down the line. He came back and grabbed his charm, playfully tapping her on the side of the face and stood by the guy who got his attention.

She stood there and watched the game, fiddling with the label on her Dr. Pepper. Before they knew it, LeRoy was winning and it was halftime. Both teams exited off of different sides of the field and the home team went into the locker rooms. Cheerleaders and the mascot went out to entertain the fans and people took this opportunity to move around and get food.

Chantelle snuck up and grabbed Claudia and dragged to the concession stand. It looked like she was giving her some sort of pep talk, because every so often she'd look over at Dean and shake her head.

They walked back arm in arm just as the players got back onto the field. Claudia stopped in front of Dean and tried her hardest to pull out of Chantelle's grip.

"I'm gonna steal my friend for a while. She'll see you at the party tonight," she smiled and pulled the struggling Claudia toward the bleachers.

"Damn. Chantelle got her, didn't she," asked her brother. He left the group and came to stand by Dean. Now that he had his helmet off, Dean could see the resemblance. He had her dark brown hair and matching eyes. They even seemed to be the same height. The only difference was that he was clearly a guy.

"Yeah. Not that I… umm… mind." He answered. If there was anything scarier than a girl's parents, it was their older brother's, and Dean didn't want to be on the top of this one's shit list.

"Heh. Course not." He smiled and held out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Alex. You've gotta be Dean."

Dean accepted it and nodded. "Yeah. Winchester."

"Well, I better be getting back to the pack. I'll catch you later at the party, Winchester." He let go and slid on his helmet.

The rest of the game went by fast. In the end, the home team won and Claudia was nowhere to be found.

He had a rough idea as to where the campground was, but just to be safe, he followed a group of people he knew would be at the party right after he dropped Sam off at the bar.

By the time he got there, the place was nearly packed. It looked like someone had snuck off during the game and gotten everything ready. There were tiki torches and Christmas lights strung up around the trees. Around him, kids from his school and class were unpacking tents and other things, most likely because none of them were planning on going home. He spotted Chantelle setting up a tent next to the unmistakable red el camino. Claudia was nowhere to be seen, although he figured she'd be around here somewhere.

Out of nowhere, a girl he recognized from one of his classes, wandered over and tried starting up a conversation. He had no idea what her name was or which class it was, but she looked familiar.

He gave into temptation and decided to talk to her. She led him over to a group of people he would label as the higher-ups in his class. They had the designer abused pants and shirts that you just buy off the rack for more than they were worth. He accepted a beer from one of the guys and tried his hardest to talk to them, even though it was much harder than it was worth. He reminded himself to never get himself pulled into one of those situations again.

About 30 minutes passed before she materialized. They had gone from talking about parties and who's dating who to the small abandoned house outside of town that kids like to vandalize for shits and giggles.

She pulled up with her brother on a classic motorcycle. He parked next to her camino and she grabbed a thick cd case out of the saddle bag and sat in the passenger seat of her car. Her brother leaned in the window and pushed a cd into the player before she could object. Looking satisfied, he ran his hand over his wet hair and went over to Chantelle, who was standing by a group of her friends.

Nirvana's "Come as you are," started playing on her radio for everyone to hear, but she was still sitting in her car flipping through her cd's. Out of nowhere, a guy he'd never seen before, went over and got her attention. He pulled her out of the car and dragged her out of the car. She smiled and let him hug her, looking more than happy to see him.

"Ooh, he came back," said one of the girls who seemed to be glued to the quarterback.

"Whose he?" Dean asked, trying to hide the jealousy.

She giggled and took a sip out of whatever was in her red cup.

"You're new here, so you wouldn't know, but that's her boyfriend. He's in the Army and totally yummy." She laughed, ignoring the look she got from Ryan Sloan, the qb.

Dean watched as she took his hand and led him to the beach where someone had started a bonfire.

He gave up on staring and excused himself from the group. He was on his way back to his car when Alex ran up to meet him.

"Yo dude. Where are you going?" he asked, already looking buzzed.

"Nothing man, just going back home." He answered, fiddling with his dad's keychain. He didn't want to be socially awkward.

"Naw dog. Stick around. You're a cardinal, and this," he motioned with a flourish the people scattered around the beach," is how cardinals party after a kick ass win like we had tonight. Am I right?" he nearly yelled.

"AMEN!" shouted a couple of guys on the team that was within earshot. This was a huge thing for them.

Dean laughed at the giggling players," Yeah, but I've only been here a week and you didn't even play, so what's the big deal."

"That don't mean a thang," he smiled and motioned for Dean to follow him. He ducked into the tent next to his sister's car and rummaged around a duffel bag full of clothes and other things. He finally came out with a couple shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey and parked himself at the picnic table. Dean figured it wouldn't hurt to join him and sat at the other side of the table.

Satisfied that Dean was sticking around, he untopped the bottle and poured them each a shot. It was after a couple of rounds he was glad he didn't leave. Somehow, Dean didn't know when, Alex had pulled out a deck of cards and was explaining how to play a game. It was Dean's turn to deal when he sensed someone standing behind him.

She was looking over his shoulder shaking her head. "How did he talk you into playing that? You know he's a pro at shit on your neighbor, right?" she laughed and sat down next to your brother.

Alex smiled and put his arm over her shoulder for support in case he fell off the bench. "Where's Donavan?" he slurred.

She unhooked her brother from her arm and poured herself a shot.

"He's mingling. Does dad know you have his booze?" she asked and took the shot, barely wincing.

"Naw, dude. John's in town, so he'll just blame it on him." He laughed and took put down his card.

"John who?" Dean asked, already knowing the answer.

"Your dad," She looked at him and pulled her brother's cards out of his hand.

"Your dad and our dad go way back. Hunting buddies." She answered, waiting for the realization to hit him.

"Our dad's, wait… you're hunters. You're the starks?" he remembered his dad mentioning Nathaniel and his kids all the time, but never actually met them. Apparently Nathan was an expert on werewolf and shape shifters, known throughout the hunter community as 'THE NATHAN STARK.'

"Yep. And you are the Winchesters." She replied.

"Are you serious? Your dad is like, awesome." He laughed, barely believing what she was saying.

"Yeah, dad's pretty awesome," said Alex.

"I-" he started, but right then his phone rang.

"Hello," he answered, the caller id telling him it was his dad.

"Dean. Put your mother on the phone and have her come get me." He slurred, clearly beyond drunk.

"Dad, mom's-" he started, but John interrupted.

"Put your mother on the phone boy. Nathan's not gonna let me drive home. Give me to Mary," he yelled. Dean was speechless.

Claudia reached forward and pulled the phone out of his hand.

"John, listen. I'm on my way," she told him, figuring he was drunk enough to not know the difference," yeah I know. Ok hun. I'll be right there. I love you too."

She hung up and exchanged a look with Dean.

"I'll be right back," she told her brother, who shook his head no.

"Wait. I'll go." Both him and Dean swayed to their feet.

"No way. You're Navy career hinges on you not getting arrested for drinking, and you," she looked at Dean," Don't know where I live. I'm driving," she held out her hands for the keys.

"Fine," he answered and handed her the keys.

"Chantelle," she yelled in her friend's direction. When Chantelle came over, Claudia gave her a few instructions to make sure her brother didn't overdose himself on booze and to make sure her boyfriend drove her car home in the morning if she didn't come back.

She ran out to the car and jumped into the passenger seat. Dean didn't realize why she insisted on driving until he got up and she almost had to help him into the car. He wouldn't have gotten the keys in the ignition.

For the most part, they drove in silence. He didn't know where they were going, but it was clear that she did. She stuck to the gravel as best she could and about 6 miles outside of town, they were at her place. There was a giant aluminum barn and a pasture which was no doubt for horses. She shut off the impala and took a deep breath.

He followed her into the house and prepared himself for the worst. Her dad met them in the kitchen with a look on his face.

"John's in the living room sobering up." He told them. " got pretty worked up about something and started calling for Mary."

"What was he drinking?" Dean and Claudia asked at the same time.

"I don't remember." he looked guilty. Her father did his best to make sure everyone in his presence was safe.

"Uh huh." Dean nodded and went to find his dad.

When he rounded the corner to the living room, John was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. Dean walked over and stood in front of his dad.

"I'm sorry son," he whispered. His voice was hoarse from all of the yelling.

"It's alright, dad." He answered. The words didn't sting his brother as much as they hurt him. His dad never mentioned Mary in front of them, but you could tell he'd been drinking a lot when he called her for a ride. John wouldn't remember any of this in the morning, but Dean would remember every word.

He pulled his dad off of the couch and followed him to the kitchen. He spoke to Nathan for a minute, but Claudia wasn't there. Nathan caught his look.

"She went upstairs. First room on the left," he directed him to her room and went back to business with John.

For those reading this, i'm so glad to have fans... although i doubt i've recruited anyone new yet. But, anywho. More to come. Read and review please. Love always, Liz.


	6. Chapter 6

The door was open and her light was on, but she wasn't in there. He decided to do a little harmless sneaking around and took one step in the door.

"That's brave of you," said a voice from behind him. He put his hands up in surrender and turned around," Alex usually avoids my room like the plague. Put your hands down you weirdo." She laughed.

He did what she told him and tried to hide the embarrassment. "I'm sorry, your dad said you were up here."

She walked past him and motioned for him to have a seat on the bed. She leaned against the dresser and crossed her arms.

"They're talking business. He sent you up here so you wouldn't hear." She answered," we'll stay up here until he's done."

"Lame." He replied." So I'm sorry about dragging you into this. Dad does this when he's had too much to drink."

"I figured," she sighed," it's ok. When dad gets too far gone, he, uh… calls for my mother, too."

"When'd she die?" he asked.

"Oh it's not like that… She left shortly after she had us. She changed her name and moved away." She came over and sat next to Dean on the bed," dad doesn't know where she went. Couldn't handle the life I guess."

"Does your boyfriend know about any of the life?" he took the dive and asked. The question had been sitting on his mind for a while now.

"Heh. No." She shook her head." But that's all fine and dandy with me, because he's going back overseas in a week. After that, everything will be as it was, you know?"

"What do you mean, like back to long distance or you see other people?" he seized the opportunity to ask.

She chewed on her lip for a moment," I don't know everything about what he does there. I know there's things he does that he doesn't know I know about, and there are things I've done, and do," she added," that he doesn't know about… but he goes his way and I go mine. So when he leaves next week, I'll be single." She answered, throwing him off guard.

"That's kinda rough though… " He whistled.

She thought about it for a second," Yeah… but it's to be expected. It doesn't matter either way. What would you do though? Wait here, knowing that they're over there doing God knows what, or put it out of your mind and do what you want?"

"I-"

"Your dad's ready to go, if you're sober enough to take him home." Her dad appeared in the doorway. He had a drawn and worried look on his face. Nathaniel disappeared just as fast as he appeared. Dean got up and walked toward the hall, but was caught off guard when she grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

She surprised him by pushing him against the wall and kissing him. Dean didn't fight her off, because deep down, it was something he'd wanted to do since he laid eyes on her. She let go and pushed him out into the hallway and shut the door, giving him no other option but to leave.

The drive to Bobby's was stressful for Dean. They'd only been on the road for a couple hours, but every time he looked in the rear view mirror, he nearly pictured the worst, almost like he was afraid she wouldn't be there.

Bobby was watching the news when he saw the cars pull into his driveway. He peeked out the window and sure enough it was Dean. Bobby remembered him saying something about a guest, but he wasn't specific as to who she was.

He watched as Dean walked back to her car and pulled her bag out of the passenger seat. She laughed and surveyed the scrap yard as they made their way to the door. Suprising enough, Dean smiled back.

Bobby met them at the door with a grin on his face. He never expected the kid to recover so fast, but deep down, he knew that Dean would never completely heal from Sam's death. Even so, it made him happy to see Dean smile.

"Hey Bobby," Dean said as she shut the door behind him," this is Claudia Stark. Claudia, this is Bobby Singer.''

"Hello," she nodded and shook Bobby's hand with a smile on her face.

Bobby recognized the last name, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, I have some stuff in the trunk I have to grab. I'll be right back," Dean told Claudia, but she had already gravitated towards the books in the dining room.

Bobby went to turn to go to the kitchen for beers, but Dean grabbed him and pulled him outside.

Confused, he simply followed him out to the Impala.

"Bobby, there's something I gotta tell you." He said as he rummaged through the back seat for his bag.

"Ok, I'm listening." Bobby nodded.

Dean took a deep breath and turned. He told him everything from his theory about the angels and the baby. Bobby almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. By the time Dean was done putting him in the know, his good mood had vanished.

"I wish you woulda waited until I grabbed a beer," he shoved his hands into the pockets of his vest and shook his head.

"You gotta help me Bobby. She means just about everything to me." He confessed. Bobby had never heard Dean say those words before.

He put a hand on his shoulder and looked Dean in the eyes. He didn't think twice what he was being asked to do.

"Of course I'll help you. You know I will."

"Thanks Bobby." He breathed a sigh of relief and started to walk away, but Bobby held him back.

"But what are you gonna do in the long haul, boy?'' he asked frankly," she's gonna need you for more than the next 7 ½ months."

Dean thought for a second.

"She's my Jessica, Bobby. I have no reason to hunt, let alone deny it anymore. I mean, the demon is dead, Lucifer is where he belongs, and theres nowhere else I need to be than with her." He said with all seriousness in his voice," I would've given this all up years ago, and other than you, she's all I've got.

Bobby simply nodded and started to speak, but Dean was already on his way into the house.

"It's about damn time you idjit," he said to himself with a smile, just pleased that Dean had found a new purpose in life.

There was a clap of thunder and it started to pour. He was on his way to the house when something caught his eye. He wasn't sure, but when he glanced over, he swore he saw Sam.

Claudia was immersed in one of the books when Dean found her. He couldn't see the title, but knowing her, she'd rad just about anything. She didn't jump when he came up behind her.

"You told Bobby," she said without looking up," what'd he say?"

"He'll do what he can." Right then Bobby walked in with a horrified look in his eyes and made a bee line for the kitchen. He sat down in a chair and stared at the wall.

"What is it?" Dean asked from the kitchen doorway, but he didn't respond. "He was fine a minute ago."

"It's ok." Said Claudia as she kneeled in front of him and reached for his hand. There was a knock at the door and Bobby started shaking.

She looked up at Dean and nodded. He had been standing there trying to figure out what was wrong. This was all very uncharacteristic of the man. He grabbed the shotgun out of his bag and made his way to the door.

She got up to follow, but Bobby tightened his grip on her hand, so she watched instead.

Dean came back looking pissed.

"Whoever it was, they're gone now," there was a smug look on his face, but Claudia's focus was somewhere else

Bobby seemed to settle down enough to breathe, so Dean pulled over a chair and sat down and handed bobby a bottle of jack.

"You Ok, Bobby? What was it?"

"Not now, Dean." He answered and took a long drink, showing no sign he was gonna talk anytime soon.

"Here Bobby, why don't we go lay down for a bit," said Claudia she helped him up. He was shaking pretty bad so she had to steady him.

When she came back, Dean was right where she left him. She walked up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Bobby'll be ok. He just needs some sleep." She said," You should do the same. God knows you need it."

He stood there and let the heat from her hands sink through his shirt and into his shoulders. The emotional toll of Sam's death wasn't limited to his mind. Sleepless nights and stress had made it almost hard to bear.

"Claudia, if you don't wanna stay-"

"Shh… we don't need to talk about that right now, Dean."

He turned around to face her.

"You're much nicer now than you used to be," he grinned.

A smile broke out on her face as she thought about it.

"What can I say, I'm older and still wiser than I was 14 years ago," she laughed." Plus, I don't quite think that wrestling out my problems right now in my… situation, would be in my best interest.

Dean sighed and put down the gun.

"That's true. I'm gonna go get something to eat. Want anything?" he asked, almost afraid to get her something that she wouldn't like.

When she didn't move, he had to ask.

"What is it?"

She took a minute to collect her thoughts.

"Dean, Bobby and I were talking… and he told me things. About what you were talking about out there. My situation isn't your situation," she moved closer and closer until she was inches away from his body," but you meant every word you said. Why is that?"

"I do. I always have. Am I supposed to know why?" He closed the gap and pulled her against his chest. He didn't know why, but she felt so good to hold onto. He felt her nod and sniff into his shirt.

"Can you grab a jar of pickles?" she giggled and pushed herself away from him, clearly blushing.

"Naturally," he laughed and pulled his keys out of his pocket.

When he got back, she was sitting on the couch and flipping through the channels with a jar of spicy salsa and doritos on the armrest. He handed her the pickles, sat down on the couch, and unwrapped his burger and took a bite, forgetting that she couldn't stand the smell.

She looked fairly content with him sitting next to her on the couch, but made no move to say anything and simply opened the jar of pickles.

He remembered what Cass said earlier and quickly wrapped it back up and apologized. He inwardly yelled at himself for forgetting something as simple as that.

"Go ahead. I have a cold, so I can't smell a thing right now," she told him before popping a dill pickle into her mouth.

"You sure?" he just had to be sure. He was hungry, but didn't want to piss her off.

"Yeah. Go for it," she turned her attention back to the TV.

He did what she said and finished the burger. She finally quit changing the channel and settled on the news. It was mostly leftovers from the various storms and demon attacks from the devil's reign on earth. Apparently, there were more casualties than they had expected. The only reason the media was still going on about it all was because there was so much that the police couldn't explain.

Every so often, during a commercial, she'd get sick of the silence and start up a conversation. It didn't bother him. Mostly they talked about what's happened since she's been gone and he caught her up on what he and Sam went through. He avoided telling her about the women and the drinking, although he had a feeling that somehow she already knew. It wasn't until he got up to the part about losing Sam that he had lost control of himself and started to stutter. Luckily, she could sense the tension and filled in the blank.

"I'm so sorry, Dean. I was really looking forward to seeing that skinny little kid again," she wiped her sleeve across her eyes and sat down the jar of pickles.

"Oh… he's- was- far from small and skinny. Kid turned into friggin sasquatch," Dean sadly smiled at the memory and rubbed her leg, which had maneuvered its way onto his lap," speaking of, does your brother know you're… situation. Or is he…"

She smiled and shook her head.

"Naw. He's still alive, he just doesn't know I'm back," she frowned. God knows she missed her twin.

"Are you gonna tell him?" he asked.

She shook her head again and laughed.

"Are you kidding me? He went through with the whole NAVY thing and joined. Retired after 8 years and moved to Lincoln, Nebraska and has a wife and 2 kids. He's _rational_ now," she bit her lip.

Thanks For reading. More to come! Bear with me:) i have this super awesome torture scene that i HAVE to put on here. heh. stay classy everyone!

3 always- liz kempe


	7. Main Street Diner

Allright ladies and gentlemen! I'm willing to bet that you've been wondering how they met, so here it is. Haha. I don't own the Winchesters, just Claudia the smartass:) Read and review yo.

as always, Liz k.

I gotta say, contrary to popular belief, walking through that warm light and into heaven is the hardest thing you'll ever do. There's so much holding you back, people, things you have to finish, and loved ones you'll miss. For me, I thought about my dad and my brother, who will be wrecked. I thought about my boss, who was gonna have to replace me with someone totally unqualified… and the Winchesters.

I thought about Dean and Sam, and how they'll blame themselves for my death, when really, they couldn't have stopped me from going on that hunt if they tied me to my bed. It's all too complex to try and explain now, so I'll start from the beginning.

It was September of 1996 and I was having an extremely awful day to begin with. It was a Sunday and nothing was going right. Sundays are always the worst because it's calm until everyone gets out of church, so when you live in a small town with at least four of em, you end up with too many people driving around at once. Everyone and their damn dog wants to eat, but the thing is, nobody wants to cook. It was almost noon and the church crowd had died down to one or two regulars who usually just sit down for a cup of coffee at the main street café and head on their way. Sometimes in a small town like LeRoy, people traveling through stop and grab lunch and leave. Most people who live have been around for too long and just never escaped.

I had just finished up my shift and grabbed a piece of toast from sandy, the cook, when they walked in the front door. Anyone else watching them would classify them as shady, but I knew who they were from the moment he touched the doorknob. They were hunters like me and my brother and dad. I could tell by the way they walked and how the man, who looked to be the father of the two boys, scoped out the room. For a hunter, just finding a booth to sit at a diner is a science, because to us, trouble is everywhere.

The older son, who had to be around seventeen, the same age as me, looked like he'd just woken up after a long ride in the car ride. He had short cut brown hair and green eyes. The visible animosity between the younger son and his father told me that the two had been arguing about something, and he was far from dropping the subject.

Madi, the other waitress whose shift started ten minutes ago, was still outside having a smoke. So I grabbed my pen and book off of the cash register and went to take their orders. The younger one was flipping through the menu and the older one had a look on his face like he'd known what he was going to order the moment he stepped through the door, therefore, he didn't bother touching the menu.

His father was rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands and looked like he needed serious caffeine; so on my way to their table, I grabbed a mug and the thing of coffee.

As I stepped up to the booth, I put on a nice smile and inwardly cursed at Madi for not getting her butt back in here so I could get out of this joint and go home. I've been here since before we opened and I had other work I needed to do.

"Hello. How are we doing today?" I asked and poured coffee into the father's cup, which he quickly thanked me for.

"It's all good hot stuff," grinned the older son as he looked me up and down.

I wasn't all that surprised. I'm not cocky about my looks, but I gotta say, I'm a fairly cute 125 pound 5'4 brunette with a pretty face. Dark brown eyes that grab attention like a gun in a train station. Yep… this has happened before. Like I said, I wasn't surprised. My guess was that he was just as aware of his looks as I was about mine.

"Heh. I bet. What can I get you babe?" I said to the younger one, who blushed and looked over at his older brother with a wide grin on his face.

"I'll have… uh… the biscuits with gravy and a glass of orange juice," he said as he tried to hold back the laughter.

"All right. What about you… … hot stuff," I mimicked to his brother, who was sulking in his chair like he'd been shot out of the sky.

"Not hungry anymore," he said through gritted teeth, CLEARLY pissed.

"Aw Dean… eat something," his father said to his coffee cup, then looked up at me," He'll have a cheeseburger with fries, and a Pepsi. Nothing for me."

"Gotcha… I'll be back with those Drinks," I told him as I re-filled his coffee cup and walked away, grinning the whole way back to the kitchen.


	8. Chapter 8

**Rant between my sister and I**

**Amanda- (Reading my rough draft on the computer when I came back from making food) Ok... Can you say OBSESSED?**

**Me- (kicks her out of my chair and turns on some music on youtube.) Hahaha. It's only an obsession if you don't stop googling it.**

**Amanda- (Nods her head at the google page, which has been ordered to search for pictures of Jensen Ackles.) Sure.**

**Me- (Coveres up the search bar) Shut up! All you ever do is google Synyster Gates. Leave me alone you turd. Lol**

**Ok... back to the story. lol. Read and review porfavor? **

They both decided to talk about something else. Eventually it got dark and he was in the middle of a story about his dad and a huge nest of vampires before he realized she was asleep.

"… I mean there had to be at least 30 vampires in this barn. You should've seen it Claud. Downright a-ma-zing," he looked over to his left. Her head was leaning on the back of Bobby's big leather couch," I should've known," he chuckled.

"You can put her in the spare room upstairs. It's the second door on the right," Bobby was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. He looked like he slept a little, but that was it.

Dean nodded and got off of the couch. He pushed the jar of pickles and chips and food out of the way and pulled her into his arms. She mumbled a little bit, but didn't actually wake up. Last time I held her like this, she was dead. He thought back on that night he carried her up up the steps to her house. Her lifeless and bloody body didn't weigh much, but his soul sure did. Dean still remembered the look on her brother's face when he answered the door. He remembered the person who used to be his friend yell and scream over his dead sister on the kitchen floor.

He carried her up Bobby's noisy stairs and took her to the room. He laid her on the bed and slipped off her abused cowboy boots. He hated to leave her alone, but he had to.

Bobby was sitting at the kitchen table with a bottle of beer when he got back downstairs

"So… what was that all about earlier?" he asked with his head in the fridge. He sat down in the chair across from Bobby and uncapped the bottle.

He was quiet for a minute before answering. He took a long pull before he could speak.

"Dean… It was nothing. I got spooked by something and I don't know what I was thinking. I've been pretty damn jumpy the last few days, random calls in the night and stuff. It's nothing. Probably some kids from town," he answered and got up for another beer.

"Are ya sure? I mean, that was a little more than just 'jumpy'" he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah. I'll have to get another dog," he chuckled and sat back down.

Dean barely believed a word he was saying, but decided that if he wanted a place to stay, he better keep his mouth shut. Bobby had a fairly long track record of pulling guns on Winchesters.

They talked a little bit until his beer was gone. It was pretty late and Dean found himself hardly able to keep his head off the table.

"I'm gonna go pass out on the couch," he told Bobby and put his bottle in the sink. Bobby nodded and went back to staring out the window, the same thing he'd been doing since he sat down.

"NO! No no no no. No please don't," screamed Dean as Sam came closer with the rusty scalpel. He pulled and fought against the chains that were holding him to the wall.

The heat from the air burned its way down his throat and the familiar stench of blood and burning skin told him exactly where he was.

Hell.

Sam mad a series of quick and deep cuts between Deans ribs. He was already missing fingers on both hands.

"No Sam, NO! You don't wanna do this Sammy… You don't wanna do this!" he begged

"Oh, Dean," Grinned sam as he sauntered over to the table and picked a blood covered hammer," you know I don't like being called Sammy."

"Why are you doing this, Sam?" cried Dean, the tears stinging their way through the cuts on his cheeks.

Sam clicked his tongue and drove the scalpel into the joint in Dean's shoulder with the hammer.

"AAAHHHHH!" Dean screamed again, trying to breathe through the pain.

Sam circled Dean and turned the hammer over in his hands.

"You remember when Jessica died, right? You should… I mean, you were there," he broke another one of Dean's fingers and drove the hammer into his kneecap, shattering it completely," When I had to move from motel to motel and spend EVERY WAKING MOMENT with you, this is what it felt like, Dean!"

"AAAAAAHHHH! Nngh," Dean gasped, trying not to give Sam the satisfaction of hearing him scream," you… youcouldagottenout, Sam," he slurred, doing his best to blur the pain together. Eventually, torture had to stop hurting, right?

"Nope. You took that chance away when you broke into my house, told me that story about dad going missing and making me come with you. She was my reason for living, and she's dead. You know what though? I have something for you," he reached for the scalpel and twisted, sending white hot pain down Dean's arm and chest.

Dean would lose focus for a moment, but the pain always brought clarity. _More screaming? Is someone else here?_ He thought to himself. It sounded like there was someone else on the other side of the door, although he couldn't quite pinpoint who she was yet, but she did sound familiar.

Sam continued to take all of his anger out on Dean, until there was a knock on the door and her screams turned into words and cussing.

Two demons pulled her into the room and stuck her to the wall next to Dean. She struggled and struggled against the chains, but they wouldn't give.

"Mmmm… Fresh meat," Sam said and grabbed another knife off of the table," I remember her."

"No! Leave her alone, Sam!" he begged weakly, trying to reach for her hand.

She looked to her right and gasped in horror with tears streaming down her face.

"D-dean? Your… your hands?" Claudia stared with her eyes wide.

Sam thought about about it for a second," I might, under one condition," sounding like he did when he was possessed by Meg.

"Anything, just please, let her go," he struggled to form the words, already knowing what Sam was gonna make him do.

"I get to spend more time with you, Dean," he laughed and cut open her t-shirt," I miss you," he said, but it looked like he was talking to her.

"No. Go back, Dean. Get out of here," she looked Sam in the eyes with hatred he'd never seen before," let's do this you son of a bitch!" she spat in his face and braced herself against the wall.

"Claud, no… " he begged.

She looked back at him and smiled. He watched as his brother, his best friend, drove the knife into her stomach. It had to hurt like hell, because it pained him just to witness, but she didn't look away.

"Ngh," She gritted her teeth," GO!"

When he woke up, it was still dark and he almost slipped off the couch. He could hardly breathe, so he turned on the light and ran to the bathroom. Bobby must've went back to sleep, because Dean didn't see him. He stood in front of the mirror and tried to control his breathing. Meditating was something Lisa had taught him years ago, so he tried that. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, but it wasn't until she moved that he noticed that she was there.

She was curled up between the bathtub and the toilet with her hand over her eyes and had her cheek pressed against the cold floor.

"You ok?" he asked softly, not sure if she was awake or not.

She moved her hand away from her face and looked up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she whispered," Bad dream."

He nodded and wet down a rag and handed it to her.

"So i'll just... go, then,"

"Mhmm," she rolled up the washcloth and laid it across her eyes.

Dean walked out of the bathroom and flipped off the light, leaving her on the floor.

It's short, I know, but I just wanted to get this up and posted before I forgot anything or did more tweaking. Thanks for reading! More to come:)

As always,  
Everyones favorite Dean fan- Liz k


	9. Chapter 9

When he woke up, it was still dark and he almost slipped off the couch. He could hardly breathe, so he turned on the light and ran to the bathroom. Bobby must've went back to sleep, because Dean didn't see him. He stood in front of the mirror and tried to control his breathing. Meditating was something Lisa taught him years ago, so he tried that. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, but it wasn't until she moved that he saw her.

She was curled up between the bathtub and the toilet with her hand over her eyes. She had her face pressed against the cold floor.

"You ok?" he asked softly, not sure if she was awake or not.

He went back to the living room and fell back asleep on the couch against all the odds. He woke up to her nudging him to move over. There was just enough room for her to lay next to him on the couch, but Dean didn't mind. He'd much rather have her where he could touch her and make sure she was safe. He pulled her close and prayed that she'd never have to go through the hell he did.

"It was cold upstairs," she whispered and pulled the blanket closer to herself. Dean wrapped his arm around her waist and chuckled.

"Bobby doesn't do much for heating his house in the winter," she still had the same clothes from earlier, but he didn't blame her for being cold," are you gonna be ok?"

She sighed and nodded.

"Yeah," He couldn't see her face, but he imagined that she was smiling," I'll live."

"Mkay," he said softly and kissed the top of her head and took a deep breath," Goodnight Claud."

She laced her fingers through his and squeezed, moving his hand to the center of her stomach. "Night Dean."

The next morning, Dean had a killer headache. Sam was sitting cross legged at the foot of his bed eating cereal and watching the TV. He rolled over and checked his phone for the time. It was already 2 in the afternoon, which was strange. Normally, their dad had em' up and awake with his early morning stumbling around. John Winchester was NOT a morning person, and neither was Dean. Sam was usually up before both of them, unless it was a weekend.

"Where's dad," Dean asked, his head was one big ache. He slipped out of the bed and hunted around for his pants. He wandered to the bathroom in his boxers, not surprised to find his jeans in the bathtub.

"Researching, interviewing, hunting. Things like that," he said with his mouth full of cereal. Dean pulled on his pants and picked up the box of lucky charms, only to find that it was empty. He shot Sam a look, but his brother wasn't paying attention.

"Dad left money for food in your pocket," Sam's focus was still on the Saturday morning cartoons, so Dean pulled on a shirt and slipped on his boots, which he didn't even bother to tie. He ducked out of the apartment and went down to the kitchen. It wasn't all that busy for a Saturday afternoon. The lunch traffic had died down to a dull roar and Eric was working his magic with the stove. He sat down at the bar and yawned. A waitress, who he recognized from school, took his order and gave it to Eric. He thanked the girl when she brought his coffee and rubbed his face with the heels of his hands. He still had his face covered when he heard a stool on the other side of the bar scrape across the floor and someone sit down. He looked up, half expecting to see his dad.

She looked just as bad as he did. Claudia was wearing her aviator sunglasses, indoors, which was no doubt to keep any amount of inside lighting from hitting her eyes. Alex walked in and slid into the seat next to his sister and picked up a menu. Her brother looked much more adjusted, like last night didn't faze him much. Her eyebrows shot up when she looked in Dean's direction. She nudged her brother with her elbow and smiled.

"Yo!" Alex waved across the bar," How are you doing this fine… afternoon?" he walked over and sat down next to Dean, pulling Claudia with him.

"Fine. Quit yelling at me," Dean took a drink of his coffee. Claudia smiled leaned in to whisper in her brother's ear. He looked up and nodded.

"See ya later, Dean," she pulled a pretzel out of one of the bowls on the bar and walked out the door.

"Wait… where's she going?" Dean watched her leave, very confused.

"She's gonna go puke in the bushes," he looked up from the menu and surveyed Dean's expression. "Dude. Just kidding. She's probably just walking over to our grandma's. We just stopped in to pick up her food."

"Oh," Dean went back to nursing his headache. The caffeine was starting to do its job. Alex was rambling on about the party and this super cute girl he swore he got to second base with somewhere.

"I dunno man… She was just way too hot. I think her name was Chantelle, drove me home and everything."

"Dude… Chantelle? Isn't she your sister's friend or something?" Dean laughed and shook his head." You were seriously THAT far gone?"

"What? That was her? Oh my God." He held his face in his hands with his eyes wide." How did I not know that sexy yet totally immune to my bullshit girl was her."

"I have noo clue… but I'm willing to bet you had your whiskey glasses on." Dean laughed. The waitress came over with his to go box. Dean handed her the money and turned to face Alex.

"Probably. So what went on with you? Did Claudia, you know, chain you to the basement wall and have her way with you?" he winked.

"Oh no. Nothing like that. I had a, dad problem. We just went out to your place and I drove him back here. Nothing happened," he lied. He had no idea how he'd react if he found out something did, or almost happened.

"Ok, dude. I'm just praying that I didn't say anything embarrassing," he faked horror and laughed.

Dean laughed back and got up to leave. "You'll live. Chicks are used to stupid stuff being said around them. It's just the way things are, but I gotta go. Sammy sitting today."

"Wanna go 'Grandma Sitting' instead? I'll switch with you," he chuckled and tapped his money on the table.

Dean waved goodbye and walked back up the stairs to the apartments. Dean sat on the counter and ate his burger. Every so often, his eyes would dart to his phone, thinking that she'd text or call him. He was positive he gave her his number, or at least Alex should have it. Those two were practically joined at the hip. Sam had taken to randomly staring at Dean for no real reason, something that he absolutely hated.

He looked up from his phone, again, and glanced at Sam.

"Jeesus child. Knock it off," he narrowed his eyes at his brother and rolled his wrapper into a ball.

"You're waiting for her to call, aren't you?" he wrapped his fingers around the bed frame and continued to stare.

"What? Hell no," Dean gripped the ball tighter and threw it in the trash. "Who are you talking about?"

Sam took a deep breath and looked back at the TV.

"What would you say if… She called me while you were downstairs?" he questioned without turning around.

"She called?" Dean's interest spiked. Why would she call Sammy and not me?

"Haha. Noooo, but I bet you wish she did," he giggled and flipped the channel.

Dean's temper flared. He wished so bad that he could hit his brother, but the fear of his father's wrath talked him out of it. Maybe another day, he thought to himself.

Dean woke up to a crashing noise in the kitchen. His arm was still around Claudia, so the only other logical reason was that Bobby was up and going. The sun had just started to rise, sending an array of colors over her cheekbone. She was still holding onto his hand.

He slowly eased himself up and unlaced her fingers from his and gently climbed off the couch. It wasn't easy, but he managed to get clear without waking her up. He found Bobby stalking around the kitchen.

"Whatcha cookin Wolfgang?" he poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table, avoiding Bobby and the pan he was holding.

"Eggs," he said in his gruffy 'don't talk to me Idjit,' tone. Dean couldn't tell if he just woke up, or didn't sleep.

"Oh. Ok," Dean shut up and drank his coffee. Bobby sat down with his food and dug in.

Dean wasn't that hungry, so he stared out the window and thought of things to do. He sure as hell wasn't going back to Lisa's now.

"Where is she?" questioned a voice from the doorway. Cass had appeared and was standing by the fridge. Bobby was totally unfazed and still had his focus on eating. If there was anything he had in common with Claudia, it was that you NEVER bothered either of them when they ate.

"On the couch," Dean answered from behind his cup. Cass made a move to go into the living room.

"If you wake her up, I swear I'll kick your pansy ass back outside," Bobby said, to Dean's surprise.

Cass took a step back and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He shot Dean a look that screamed for help.

"Hey. Don't look at me. It's Bobby's house you poofed into," he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, both of you, but there's things we need to do. Ansiel has figured out where she is, and is close to finding his vessel. We need to go," he said urgently.

"Who the hell's 'Ansiel'," Bobby narrowed his eyes and put his plate in the sink. Dean had gotten up and was heading to the living room. Cass stuck behind to fill in the blanks where Dean had forgotten to fill.

She was exactly where he left her. Dean reached over and shook her awake and feeling guilty for it.

Instead of giving him the death glare, she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Dean, of all people, knew she hated being woken up.

"Hmm?" she blinked a few times until her eyes focused.

"Hey, babe… We gotta go," he said softly.

"Huh? What's going on," she asked, still half asleep.

"The angels. Ansiel knows where his vessel is and he knows where you are. It's only a matter of time before he comes after you," answered Castiel from behind the couch.

"How much time do I have?" She sat up and pulled the blanket up around her shoulders.

"A couple hours, but I know someone who can help," Cass replied.

"Who?" Dean and Claudia asked at once. Neither of them had the patience for this kinda crap so early in the morning.

"His name is Camael. He doesn't pick sides, so it shouldn't be that hard to convince him to help us," Cass's eyes brightened up.

"Umm… Ok? But how the hell are we gonna find him? It's not like we can just look him up in the yellow pages," Dean spoke up.

"The same way we found Raphiel. Camael has never actually taken his vessel, but he stays close just in case. If we find his vessel, then we'll have Camael,"

"Whose his vessel, Cass? Do you know where he is," Claudia rubbed her face with her hands. She was beat.

When Cass didn't answer right away, she got worried. The look on his face told her everything she needed to know.

"No. No. Not him," she shook her head in denial.

"Who the hell is it Cass!" Dean snapped.

"It's Alex. Alex is Camael's vessel," she had her face buried in the blanket. Dean almost reached for her hand, but when she wouldn't have taken it.

"Wait. Are you sure? How do you know that?" he looked from Claudia to Castiel.

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"Dean, both me and Alex are vessels. I told you before that my mom left, well she didn't exactly leave on her own accord," she answered, even though it hurt to say it." It runs in our bloodline like it did yours and Sam… Only ours was meant for the cleanup after Armageddon."

"I, I don't understand. You know for a FACT that you're a vessel. Which angel is after you?" Dean asked, awestruck.

"In the car, Ok? I gotta get ready," she got up left the room, clearly in an effort to avoid the question.

"I'll do my best to find Camael. She knows where her brother is, so just listen to her," Castiel laid a hand on Dean's shoulder, but he didn't shrug it off. This was all getting to be too damn much for his system to take.

Dean was outside with the trunk open when she came out. She looked much more comfortable today than she did when Cass brought her to the hotel room. She had her signature holy jeans on and a wife beater. It seemed like each and every day, she was slowly turning into the old Claudia. The one he knew and missed.

"Ready?" he asked, grabbing her bag and throwing it in the trunk.

"Yep. He's still in Lincoln. God, I hope he doesn't freak, you know?" She slid into the front seat and waited until he was in the car to continue." How did you do it?"

Dean fired up the Impala and backed out of Bobby's driveway.

"How'd I do what?" he pulled out onto the highway and glanced over.

"When you died, and came back. How did Sam react?" she pursed her lips and stared out the window." I hate to bring it up, I mean God knows I do Dean, but I'm alone in this."

Dean took a deep breath.

"I don't know. Bobby and I found him and he answered the door. Took a swing at me, but Bobby convinced him it was me, and that I wasn't a monster. Just like that." He stared at the road.

She was quiet for a minute, her face was unreadable.

"Claud… when dad and I brought you home, after that hunt… You have to understand that it took every ounce of control I had to walk up those steps. I knew how close you and your brother were and how he'd react. He was broken. I called him every so often, but he completely shut me out. God, I don't blame him. I would've disowned me too if I could. It's been 14 years and he's still Alex, but he's not gonna be the same Alex," Dean laid his arm across the back of the seat.

Claudia nodded.

"Bath Kol," she said out of nowhere.

"What? You just took one," Dean reminded her.

"You asked me in the house which angel I belonged to," she took a deep breath," She's the lucky heaven spawn that gets to ride around in my skin," Claudia wouldn't look away from the window.

"Hey," he looked over at her. She wiped her eyes before looking up." We're gonna find your brother, and then we're gonna figure all this crap out. We'll be ok." He reassured her, which she seemed to find comforting.

"Ok. I know," she gave him a little smile, which Dean returned.

He pulled her across the seat so she was closer. She had her head on his shoulder, and it was a matter of time before she fell back asleep. It was only a 4 hour drive, but she looked tired, so he let her pass out.

Dean pulled into the first motel in Lincoln Nebraska he could find. About an hour into the trip, Claudia woke up and moved to the back seat where there was more room, so she was still out like a light.

He walked up to the check-in counter and woke her up when he came back out.

She grabbed her bag and followed him into their appointed room and claimed the bed closest to the door while Dean ran to the gas station across the street. When he came back, she was flipping through the channels on the tv.

"Psh. TV sucks," she threw the remote on the bed and looked up. Dean pulled a piece of paper out of his coat pocket and handed it to her.

"He's working at the local community high school. The cashier looked like a student and recognized the name. Looks like we're going to school tomorrow," he grinned.

The next day, Claudia got Dean up around 7:00 a.m. and forced him out of his bed. The school Alex worked at didn't require any special dress code, so she pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Nothing that she wore or did could draw any sort of attention, because her plan was to sneak in as a new student and find her brother. Dean was too old to even be considered a student, so he was going to sit in the car until she came out. It sounded easy enough.

Dean let her out by the large bell and parked, telling her that if there was any hint of trouble, she HAD to call him. She agreed, slung her bag over her shoulder (It was in the motel's lost and found) and wandered into school with the large group of kids.

There was a pile of class schedules in the office. Alex's first class was Auto Mechanics. She should've known, being as their dad was a grease monkey. They'd been trained from a young age the art of car engines and things like that. It was to be expected.

Five minutes later, and after asking a fellow classmate the whereabouts of his room, she was in the shop. There were multiple cars and trucks parked in the large garage, so she went over and stood by a gangly freshman with braces who was trying to pour oil in the wrong spot. It looked to her that he'd really need her help. She corrected him and helped him change the belt, but it wasn't until 8:30 that Alex actually showed up.

He wandered in with a large coffee mug in his hand and a pair of safety glasses pushed to the top of his head. Alex looked like he hadn't shaved in over a week, judging by the beard that had accumulated. Sure, he'd gotten a little a little older and gained a few pounds, but he was still her older brother. She put on a pair of safety goggles and forced her partner to join her under the hood to inspect the way back of the engine. Alex made a loop around the other cars and came to check on the one she was working at.

"How are we doing today, Terry? Did you finally figure out what that noise was all about?" he asked, lifting the mug. Claudia looked directly at the floor and avoided eye contact.

"No, uh. I don't even remember what noise it was, sir," he fidgeted with the wrench and stared at the floor too.

"You don't remember? It's this one," he sat down his coffee, slid into the driver seat and turned on the car. The sound of an unhealthy engine filled the shop and Terry covered his ears. This car LITERALLY sounded like it was falling apart. Claudia listened intently, going through her head the causes of a noise like that.

Alex shut off the engine and got out of the car. Of course he knew exactly what that noise was, but it was his job to teach, not fix cars for high school students. If this kid didn't get wheels fixed, he was going to have to ride the bus to school until he figured it out.

"Any ideas?" Alex looked at him impatiently. Poor Terry nervously rambled off a list of things, but none of them were close. Claudia couldn't take it anymore, so instead of melting into the crowd like she should've done, she decided to help out.

"It's the resonator. There's a hole in it," she answered, keeping her face low. Alex turned his attention to her and narrowed his eyes.

"That's right. Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm, uh… the foreign exchange student," she replied without gazing any further than his shoes.

"You're Taij Sama from… Canada?" Alex replied, his voice unbelieving. Claudia simply thanked her lucky stars that there was even a Foreign exchange student opening, or else she would've been in trouble. It wasn't all that hard anyway, being as she got crap for having a Canadian accent anyway, although she didn't know where she even got it from.

"Yessir," she said.

"Well I'll be damned," he chuckled before taking a drink of his coffee," thanks to you, Terry's mommy here won't have to drive him to school every morning, cause that's just mean."

"Yessir,"

Terry laughed nervously and nodded, seeming very excited that the problem could be fixed. Claudia turned back toward the car to finish inspecting, but Alex got her attention.

"Taij Sama, why don't you join me in my office quick," he motioned to the door in the back of the room. She cussed under her breath and handed Terry the wrench.

"Don't worry. He doesn't bite," he encouraged.

"It's not that I'm worried about," she took off her goggles and walked into Alex's office.

Alex's office consisted of a small desk, an outdated computer, and a table full of papers and gunked up engine parts. His desk was covered in demotivational posters and piled to the ceiling with ungraded homework. He took a seat behind his desk and sifted through the paperwork.

"So which part of Canada are you from? I used to go fishing in northern Minnesota when I was little," he smiled, trying at small talk, even though he was lying. Their dad never took them fishing.

"I'm from Vancouver, sir. It gets very cold around those parts," she replied, taking a seat on the only empty chair.

"I see. Great scenery though. Here it is," he said to himself and produced a piece of paper that was stashed underneath his desk. He pulled it out and smoothed out the corners.

"Taij Sama, age 15. It says here you're from Ontario. It also says-"

"I am, but I grew up in both places-" she started before he cut her off.

"Wait a sec," he put up a finger to shush her," A note from your last principal. 'Taij Sama is a very hardworking and promising student. He is very kind and easily gets along with others.'" He finished, putting down the paper," so unless you're a transvestite, you better start explaining yourself before I call the cops."

Claudia took a deep breath and got up to lock the door before sitting back down and explaining.

"Alex, it's me, Claudia," she began. Alex's face was impassive, but he wasn't going to believe a word she said.

"No you're not," he rummaged through the cluttered desk for his cellphone.

"Yes I am. We're hunters. Your name is Alex Donavan Stark, I'm Claudia Aleksey Stark. You have a birthmark on your butt shaped like a giraffe," she laughed and rambled off things that only she would know.

"How the hell- my wife told you that, didn't she," he reached for the phone, but she quickly unplugged it.

"I'm your twin sister , we were born September 14th, and our mom…" she paused before continuing," our mom was taken by angels."

"Who the hell told you this stuff?" he asked in disbelief.

"The only way I'd know about mom is if I was a hunter, and the only way I'd know about your birthmark and the fact that you slept with a blankie until you were 14 was if I was your sister," she said reasonably," do you believe me yet?"

"What's dad's middle name?" he asked.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Answer the question."

"Jordan. For god's sake Alex,"

"Favorite booze and why," he said quickly. There was a glint in his eye that wasn't there before.

"Alex-"

"Mine. My favorite booze and why," he ordered. He'd already started to believe her, but he couldn't be too safe.

"Yours was anything dad had sitting around, because it got you drunk," she said impatiently." Now if you're done, there's something serious I need to tell you."

"One more?" he got up and grinned like a little kid. He leaned against the front of his desk.

"Go for it,"

"Whose older, you or me?"

She stood up and looked him in the eye. "Mentally or physically?" she laughed when he rushed forward and hugged her. His grease stained shirt reminded her of home and how much she missed it.

She told him everything, from how she was brought back to life and what she's been doing since. She could tell he still had it in for Dean, so she did a little damage control and told him that it wasn't his fault. He seemed to have lightened up by the time she got around to actually warning him about Camael. She would've told him more, but there was a loud crash outside the door and a bunch of smoke.

Someone in the back was spot welding and a spark hit his pants. The fire was out, but the kid was standing there in his boxers staring at a pile of ash.

"For christsake Dylan! Get your damn pants back on!" he yelled.

"I can't man. Those were my pants," he tried covering himself, but he wasn't successful.

"My office, NOW," he was eerie calm," Taylor, go get his gym shorts," he ordered Dylan's best friend, who was gone in a matter of seconds. Alex ordered the guys to stop snickering and the only other girl to close her eyes as Dylan did the walk of shame to his office.

"Later Claud, ok?" he whispered and followed Dylan. She nodded and picked up her coat.

Dean was sitting in the car patiently when she came out, although he was surprised she wasn't gone longer.

She quickly filled him in on the way back to the motel. Since nothing serious happened and the authorities weren't alerted, he dismissed the feeling that there was something she wasn't telling him.

Part of him wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he knew she wouldn't answer. She'd always been stubborn when it came to making her problems into someone else's. That could've been the reason she never told him she was pregnant.

Claudia was out of the car as soon as he pulled into the parking lot. She used the spare key and rushed into the motel where she spent the next couple hours in the bathroom. Weather it was because she didn't want anything to do with him or the morning sickness, it was none of his business. He filled his time by drinking his beer and doing some much needed detail work on his car. She was out like a light in her bed when he came back in.

When Dean woke up the next morning, she was gone. All she left was a note on the table .

Dean,

You're probably wondering where I went and why I've been avoiding you. I've been trying to figure things out… about you and me. I know you're not gonna like this, but I'm going back to Bobby's. You are going to Lisa's. If you follow me back to South Dakota, I'll kick your ass.

This is something you're not gonna want to do, but please just hear me out. I'm dead Dean. You have a life and people who are more than willing to let you in, but you can't do that by being chained to a dead chick. Please, just move on. For my sake and yours.

I'll be at Bobby's. Cass knows where I'll be. I love you.

Claud.

He didn't know what to think. Every fiber of his being screamed to follow her and make her change her mind, but he knew she'd never let him, so he checked out of the motel and went back to Cicero.

It was around noon when Dean showed up on Bobby's doorstep. He'd taken her advice and went back to Lisa, knowing very well that if she didn't want him around, there was nothing he could do.

They'd been separated for about 4 months, but they still kept in close contact, weather it was a phone call at the end of the day or assuring texts that she still hadn't been found by the angels. Lisa never knew, but since he'd decided to temporarily retire the impala to the garage, he'd go out and sit in his car and talk.

It wasn't easy, but he got used to it, making plans to go to Bobby's and visit.

"Heya Dean," Bobby stepped aside to let him in.

"Is she around?" he asked, sounding very much like a teenage boy picking up the girl for a date.

Bobby grabbed him in a bear hug and laughed.

"Nope. She's pulling another shift at the vet's office. If you're here to take her back, you can forget about it. I was just getting used to the not cooking thing," he reached into the fridge and pulled out a beer.

""Heh, no. I couldn't if I tried. What's she doing working at the vet's?" Dean asked. She never mentioned work over the phone.

"Her job, I'm guessin. She should be back around 1. At least I think so anyway."

"Right," he nodded, turning around to walk into the dining room. "Bobby… Why's the door closed?" he asked. The door was usually always open.

"She, uh… Cleaned. It's too damn neat in there without all that dust," he grumbled.

"Sure she did," Dean opened the door and walked in," don't lie, you like it."

They went in and sat down and farted around, mostly chatting about Bobby's latest hunts. Apparently there was a poltergeist tormenting a family in New Mexico and a shapeshifter near Roswell posing as an alien.

"I mean all the witnesses could say was there was a little green man wandering the streets. Claudia thought it was hilarious until she saw it with her own two eyes," Bobby propped his boots on the desk and relaxed.

"Wait, what was she doing in Roswell?" he narrowed his eyes at Bobby.

"I took her with, of course. She wanted to go, so I let her. Not a huge deal, Dean."

"You let a 6 month old pregnant girl go hunting with you? None of that is good, Bobby," he took a drink before continuing," she could've gotten hurt."

"Aww, that's cute," Bobby grinned.

"I'm serious." Dean shot back.

"Watch your tone, boy. Does it look like I'd let anything happen? She's like a daughter to me, besides… she's home, so be careful what you say." He warned as she pulled in the drive way and parked right behind Dean's white truck.

A couple minutes later, there was movement outside and she walked in the door.

"Bobby! C'mon! There's something I gotta show you out side in my ca…r-" she hung her bag on a chair in the kitchen and poked her head into the dining room, her train of thought trailed off at the sight of Dean," Dean?" she smiled and gave him a hug.

"Hey. I was in the general area and thought I'd stop in. Holy crap," he got a good look at her belly hidden under her green scrubs. It almost looked too big on a person of her size.

"Yeah, I'm telling you, it's one giant party of fun," she grinned and looked down. "People at work cant quit touching it. You can if… you, uh… wanted to," she blushed.

"No, it's-" he started, but Bobby elbowed him in the ribs," Ow." He aimed a look at the older man.

"What? No-" Bobby just rolled his eyes and grabbed his wrist and put it to her side," Oh my god. Have you felt this?" he asked, astonished, and looked up at Bobby. Claudia laughed.

"Every day," he replied and crossed his arms, grinning proudly.

"Yep. Right around… here," she moved his hand closer to her ribs," is where he kicks,"

"I'll be damned," Dean smiled, wishing he'd been here sooner.

"Like I said… it's a ton of fun," she looked up at Bobby," Oh! You gotta see this, before it freezes to death," she turned and slipped out the door and into the snow outside.

Bobby and Dean followed her out to her car, where there was a small kennel in the back seat. Claudia unlatched the door before pulling out a small black puppy.

"He's a rescue from the vet. I think I remembered you saying something of the lab breed, right?" she cradled the little dog in her arms before handing it off to Bobby," He's young, but you should be able to train him to scare off any hooligans."

"Thanks," Bobby examined it from every angle," He'll do. What do you wanna name him," he asked, rubbing it's head.

"I dunno. The ladies at work already named him Boomer. Just call him random names and see what sticks," she grabbed the kennel and shut the door.

"Boomer's good," Bobby smiled and took the puppy back into the house, leaving Dean and Claudia to talk outside.

"So how've you been-" she started

"What the hell were you doing in Roswell?" he asked suddenly," You know you could've gotten hurt right?" Dean started tearing her a new one. Instead of lashing out like he half expected her to do, she just crossed her arms over her chest and listened intently and waited for him to get it out of his system. Her face was impassive.

"You're right. That was foolish and reckless and I had the time of my life. It won't happen again, Master," she nodded and raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to speak.

"Don't call me that." He said blankly. There was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Master? Why not? If you insist on being a bitch about it, I have a longer list of colorful names I could call you."

"You don't understand, Claud-"

"Look… I'm sorry. Next time, instead of staying here ALONE where I'm completely vulnerable to the powers that be, I'll have Bobby drop me off at your place. OH, which is also your girlfriend's place," she started nibbling on her lip.

"Your point, I'd really like to hear it," he crossed his arms and waited for the rest.

"The 'Girlfriend'" she air quoted," that does not know I exist, because I'm just the girl you got pregnant 14 years ago when you were eighteen. That wouldn't be awkward at all," she started to walk away.

"What about Cass? Couldn't he, I dunno, baby sit you?" he grabbed her arm to stop her, but she slipped away.

"When I was perfectly fine with Bobby? Naw, no way. Besides, he's still trying to figure things out with Camael, so if you'd excuse me, I'm 6 months pregnant and have to pee." She pushed past him and stalked into the house.

She all but locked herself in the kitchen and focused on putting what looked to be a roast in the crock pot. Despite Dean's many attempts to apologize, she was untouchable. In the end Dean gave up after saying everything there was to say and went to Bobby's desk. Every time he'd try to talk to her, she'd turn up the radio a little bit louder to the point Dean caught her drift.

"I'm going into town for a beer. Come with me," Bobby threw Dean his coat.

"…sure," he slipped it on and followed Bobby to the truck after catching the look he was implying.

"You sure you just wanna leave her there for the sake of a buzz?"

"She's pissed you idjit," he answered matter-of-factly," and if you don't leave her alone, she's gonna explode. Plus i was out of beer at home. She'll be fine, you're not her keeper you know.

5 miles and many beers later, it was about ten-o-clock and the crowd had died down. Dean and Bobby seated themselves at the bar and were on the verge of tipping over.

"Y'know what never c-ceases to amaze me, Bobby?" Dean slurred before punching Bobby's arm to get his attention," This…" he studied the napkin with a waitress's name and number on it.

"Savor it, boy. In 30 years you won't get those anymore," he took a drink of his beer.

"Naw? You sure, cause grave and banana peel have been eyeballing you all night," he pointed at 2 of the ladies sitting by the pool tables. The redhead wore a pink top that showed way too much was chatting up a blonde who was probably on her fourth husband.

Bobby shuttered at the thought and ordered a shot of whiskey.

"If you, I dunno, put a bag over their heads and pretend they're 25 year old play boy bunnies, it might not be so bad." Dean snickered and almost dropped his beer.

"Will you shut up? All this coming from the guy whose caught between a rock and the hard place. Go for it," Bobby laughed and steadied a very tipsy Dean in his seat.

"We both know there's only one hard place for me, and she hates me," Dean said in a sober voice and took a shot.

"She doesn't hate you, kid. Hell, she gets pissed at me all the time, but she gets over it and moves on. It's what she does."

"No. Deep, deep… really deep down she can't stand to be around me. Sam left as soon as he could-"

"Will you shut-"

"I mean I should've moved on after she died, right? I got over Dad's death and all those other people who died on my watch. And I did. I got over it and learned to live, but why the hell can't I just leave her alone?" he asked no one in particular. "Why can't I do what she wants me to do and go back to Lisa?"

"I can't answer that. That's just something you're gonna have to figure out yourself," Bobby checked the clock and pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Dean asked. His words were starting to slur.

"Our ride," he answered," Balls… She ain't picking up."

"I left my phone at home." She was standing in the doorway," Too cold to walk boys? I thought you two were wilder than that."

"Who called you?" Dean asked

"Todd did. That cute bartender," she smiled and put her keys back in her pocket.

"Mhmm. He is cute," Bobby agreed and finished his beer. This pulled a quick giggle out of Claudia who just couldn't help but smile. Bobby wasn't gay, but he did everything he could to make her smile.

"Ok hot stuff." Dean tried slipping off the bar stool, but almost fell on his butt. Luckily Claudia was there and kept him from hitting the floor. "Whoa… there's a floor there."

"Yep. There sure is," Claudia nodded and slung his arm over her shoulder to steady him.

Bobby opened the door to the camino and pushed the seat forward for Dean to slide in the back seat.

"Y'know I'm so, so, so sorry about earlier. Just so you know that," he slurred. She tried getting him to get into the back seat but he wouldn't budge.

"I know. It's fine," she replied but the look on his face said there was something else he wanted to say. "Get in."

"Yes Ma'am." He nodded and got in the back seat. Dean was passed out before he hit the seat.

After a quick word with Bobby, they were on the snow covered roads and on their way home.

Dean woke up alone in Claudia's room the next morning with no memory of ever walking up the stairs. He checked his watch and rolled out of bed.

He stumbled down the stairs and went straight to the bathroom where he no sooner had his head out of the toilet before she was there with a glass of water. She was wearing a black hoodie over her blue scrub top.

He flushed the toilet and leaned against the sink. He swished his mouth before speaking.

"Slave drivers are making you work on Thanksgiving? What a buzzkill." He pulled his spare toothbrush off the shelf and loaded it with toothpaste.

She chuckled and leaned against the doorway, crossing her arms.

"It's not so bad. My family never did the whole feast thing, so I'm not missing much." She replied," what are you gonna do?"

"I promised Ben I'd be home in time for the game." He answered with the toothbrush in his mouth.

"Good. Nobody should be alone on a day like this," she smiled.

"I thought that was Valentines Day."

"It's the same thing. I better get going," she unhitched herself from the doorway and turned to leave.

"Wait," he spat in the sink," I'm gonna tell Lisa. She'll understand."

She thought about this for a second with her back to him.

"No, Dean. She won't."

She was out the door and in her car before he could react. All he could do was watch her drive away from the door.

An hour later, Dean was on the road and back to Lisa's. Bobby came down and went directly to the coffee machine about an hour later. Dean made sure not to speak until he was caffeinated up.

He told Bobby that he'd be back soon sometime within the next two weeks. If his plan to fill Lisa in on the dirty details went as planned, he'd need another place to stay. Bobby had no input on the subject but that it was gonna end messy. Dean already knew this, but was going to tell her anyway.

Dean was at the door with his duffel bag when Bobby stopped him.

"Just one thing before you go," he said, almost unsure if he should say anything at all.

"Yeah, what's up?"

He cleared his throat," She really misses you, Dean. As much as she hates to admit it, there's a large part of herself that needs you here. Between hiding from the angels and everything else, she doesn't have much left. Did you know she can actually SENSE them getting closer?" he asked.

"No I didn't," Dean replied, awestruck.

"She can," Bobby laid a hand on Dean's shoulder," You being here evens her out. Come back soon. If she says not to, come anyway."

Dean nodded and walked out to his truck and threw his duffel bag into the cab, waving at Bobby before disappearing.

Disclaimer: You all know there's more to this, but i'm doing the best I can:)

Apparently Kripke has been reading my mind, so whatever comes up next, I came up with it first. Trust me, I have witnesses.

As always, I don't own the Winchesters or anything else I brought inspiration from. I can only claim Claudia and her brother ^_^*

sincerely, Liz K.


End file.
